Western used four home runs and two big innings to power past Marshall, 11-5, Saturday afternoon at Hennon Stadium.

Career Notes: Finished his junior season with 241 career strikeouts to already rank sixth all-time in WCU's record book ... Has earned six Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades, the most of any one Catamount pitcher in school history - more than twice the number of Clark Maxwell (1994-97) who earned three weekly nods and coincidently, is the Catamounts' all-time leader in career strikeouts.

2009 (Junior): Converting from reliever, made 17 appearances on the year including 14 as a weekend starter, tossing 83 and two-thirds innings ... Finished with a 5.59 ERA ... Led the team with 99 strikeouts, or just under six per appearance and just over one K per inning pitched ... Also paced the squad with 28 batters struck out looking ... Twice fanned a career-high of 11, doing so in his first career complete game in a 3-1 home win over The Citadel and also in a seven-inning appearance victory over the College of Charleston in the SoCon tournament ... All told, reached double-digit strikeouts in four separate games, tallying five-or-more in 11 of his 17 appearances ... Was a two-time Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week ... Earned his first honor following his first-ever complete game against The Citadel, holding the Bulldogs to a .188 batting average ... Captured his second weekly honor in early May making two appearances including an eight inning, three-hit and eight-strikeout action in a winning effort at UNC Greensboro, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning ... Limited opponents to a .248 batting average ... Was a preseason first team All-SoCon selection as a pitcher.

2008 (Sophomore): Appeared in 28 games with one start, a no-decision against Creighton in the Rice Tournament ... Led the team with an 8-4 overall record, a 4.24 earned run average and 80 strikeouts through his 68.0 innings pitched ... His eight victories and 80 K's ranked inside the top four in SoCon statistical categories ... Opponents only hit .227 against the southpaw for the season ... Was a three-time Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week ... Earned his first honor of the season on March 31 after earning two wins and a save in five relief appearances ... He tossed 7.1 innings of one-hit baseball, pitching around four walks with six strikeouts ... Garnered his second weekly honor on April 21 after working 4.2 perfect innings, retiring all 14 batters he faced including four 1-2-3 innings at against Appalachian State allowing the Catamounts to rally and win in extra frames ... Tallied his third weekly award on May 5 with two wins in relief over Wofford in three appearances, allowing one run in eight innings of work with nine strikeouts ... Tied his career-long outing with six innings with a career-best nine strikeouts in the SoCon tournament against Appalachian State ... Was selected as a member of the pre-season All-Southern Conference Second Team as a relief pitcher by both the league's coaches and the SoCon Sports Media Association ... Played in the prestigious Cape Cod league during the summer for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox with classmate, Nick Liles.

2007 (Freshman): Worked as both a midweek starter and a strong setup reliever during his freshman campaign ... Ended the season with a record of 5-2, tied for third best on the team ... Pitched 54.1 innings in 31 appearances, with four starts ... His 62 strikeouts were good for second best on the team for the season ... Had the lowest ERA among the relievers at 3.31 ... During the season, worked 15-consecutive innings of scoreless relief, including 21 strikeouts in mid-season ... Had a career-long outing of six innings against East Tennessee State, in a game where he also set a career-high with five strikeouts in the performance ... Was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 30, in which he made two appearances totaling 5.1 innings, allowing two singles and striking out six batters ... Played for the New Market Rebels of the Valley League over the summer with former WCU teammate Barrett Shaft ... Made seven appearances for the Rebels, racking up a 2-2 record and a 2.59 ERA ... Pitched a total of 41.2 innings, allowing opposing batters to only hit .182 ... Struck out 58 and walked 15 for an impressive 3.9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Prior to Western: Selected to go to Turner Field for the Braves 400 Club, which is an organization that honors the top 18 metro Atlanta high school baseball all-stars ... Tabbed as one of the top eight pitchers in the state of Georgia ... A two-time, first team All-Cobb County selection by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Marietta Daily Journal ... A member of the Team Georgia as a junior and senior, earning all-tournament at the event as a senior ... Set school records for career wins (23) and strikeouts, getting 106 in 52 innings as a senior and 242 in his career ... As a junior, posted a 6-1 record with a 2.55 ERA, leading Kennesaw to the Georgia AAAAA semifinals and a 28-7 record ... Went 5-2 with a 2.91 ERA as a sophomore.

Personal: Born Christopher Byron Masters in Rocky Mount, N.C. ... Son of John and Wanda Masters.